Status: 04/22/2023 12:21 p.m
Visitors can once again enjoy the spectacular view of Rügen from the Königsstuhl. This is made possible by a new skywalk over Germany’s most famous chalk cliff.
After almost two years of construction, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) inaugurated the new Skywalk over the Königsstuhl on Rügen. From now on, visitors can walk across the new viewing platform. The 185 meter long elliptical circular route, the so-called Königsweg, is held by a huge guy pole and hovers over the 118 meter high Königsstuhl, the largest chalk cliff in Germany.
Inauguration party also on Sunday
The Skywalk will be “a new visitor magnet for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,” said Schwesig, not only protecting the sensitive ecosystem, but also offering people exciting and safe access to the Königsstuhl. The inauguration will be celebrated on Rügen for two days. The modernized exhibition at the National Park Center was also reopened. According to current information, the costs for the Skywalk are more than 8.5 million euros.
The previous vantage point on the rock was cordoned off last September to protect the area from erosion. According to the National Park Center, around 300,000 visitors come to the Königsstuhl every year. The first known mention of the Königsstuhl comes from 1584. Tourism started around the late 17th century.
The Skywalk – a construction project of superlatives
The elliptical, hanging bridge was built in just under two years while visitor traffic continued. The foundations for the mast and the guy ropes were built up to 48 meters deep in the chalk. This work has already taken longer than initially estimated. In September 2022, the old Königsstuhl was closed to visitor traffic because the mast for the Skywalk was set and the 400-ton bridge construction began to be advanced.
The construction took much longer than originally planned because of the complicated processes, above all because of the complex welding work on the 13 bridge parts. Initially, the city of Sassnitz, as the developer of the project, estimated 7.6 million euros. The construction costs have now risen to at least 8.8 million euros, also because of the longer construction period.
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